Stackable furniture units

ABSTRACT

Three stackable units which can be arranged above the top of a twin bed to convert the bed into a sitting couch. The units are hollow and have steeply sloping fronts, enclosed sides and enclosed tops. The sloping fronts are upholstered, and serve as backrests for those using the couch. The units can be manually hung on a support frame attached to a wall adjacent the bed, or on such a frame attached to the bed itself, by means of interlocking hooks on the units and bars or pins incorporated in the frame, for suitable positioning over the bed. When the sitting couch is to be converted back into a bed, the units are unhooked from the frame by hand, and can then be stacked to form a night stand. To make this possible, the units differ incrementally in size so as to stack with the top of one inside the bottom of another, in telescoping fashion. Strips along the inner surfaces of the sides of the upper two units in the stack serve as stops to prevent excessive telescoping of the units and to fix the height of the night stand.

C United States Patent [151 3,639,924 @adle Feb. 8, 1972 [54] STACKABLE FURNITURE UNITS Primary ExaminerCasmir A. Nunberg 72 Inventor: Peggy Snider Cadle, 1283 Bell St., San Cmwe Bemardino, Calif. 92404 [57] ABSTRACT [22] F'led: 1969 Three stackable units which can be arranged above the top of 2 APPL 33 797 a twin bed to convert the bed into a sitting couch. The units are hollow and have steeply sloping fronts, enclosed sides and enclosed tops. The sloping fronts are upholstered, and serve as [52] US. Cl. "5/2, 5/59 C backrests for those using the couch The units can be manually [51] Int. Cl. ..A47c 13/35, A47c 4/02 hung on a support frame attached to a wall adjacent the bed, [58] Field of Search ..5/2, 52, 53, 59, 296; 312/107, or on such a frame attached to the bed itself, by means of in- 312/108, 11 1; 297/239 terlocking hooks on the units and bars or pins incorporated in the frame, for suitable positioning over the bed. When the [56] References Cit d sitting couch is to be converted back into a bed, the units are unhooked from the frame by hand, and can then be stacked to UNITED STATES PATENTS form a night stand. To make this possible, the units differ incrementally in size so as to stack with the top of one inside the 2,419,838 4/1947 James ..297/239 bottom of another in telescoping fashion Strips along the 26l0329 9/1952 strathaus "5/59 inner surfaces of the sides of the upper two units in the stack 2942279 6/1960 Van Canon /296 serve as stops to prevent excessive telescoping of the units and 3 ,059,246 10/1962 Shlaes ..5/2 R to fix the height of the night Stand 3,110,911 11/1963 Osborne eta] ..5/59

8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures STACKABLE FURNITURE UNITS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to bipurpose furniture units serving, in one capacity, as backrest means in conjunction with a bed for conversion of the latter into a sofalike sitting couch, and stackably cooperating, in another capacity, to serve as a night stand for use separate and apart from the bed.

In living units of limited space, such as efficiency apartments, house trailers, etc., a common area is often used for both living and sleeping purposes. This poses the problem of providing suitable living room and bedroom furniture in a room, or area, of limited space. For reasons of esthetics, as well as space shortage, conventional beds are seldom suitable for use in conjunction with separate items of living room fumiture in such areas. Instead, dual purpose sofa beds, davenports, and the like, are frequently employed for double duty service as couches during the day and beds at night. Or, rollaway beds, folding cots, etc., are sometimes used, in which case they are generally opened up for use at night, and folded away for storage during the daytime. All such expedients, however, have certain inherent disadvantages.

When a sofa bed or davenport is employed for alternate living room and sleeping purposes, there is a daily necessity for converting it from a bed to a living room couch in the morning, and making the reverse conversion in the evening, prior to bedtime. Each of these chores is somewhat burdensome and time consuming. Furthermore, there are accompanying problems of assuring adequate room for the sofa bed or davenport in its expanded sleeping form; providing a temporary place of storage for any pillows or bedding removed from the sofa bed or davenport during the day; and finding space on the floor, or elsewhere, for cushions removed from the sofa bed or davenport at night when it is converted into a bed, which problems, particularly when aggravated, can detract significantly from the advantages of sofa bed or davenport usage.

Where a rollaway bed or folding cot is used on a nightly basis, and folded up and stored during the daytime, there are problems of finding room for the bed or cot, which sometimes entails the necessity of moving furniture, finding space to store the folded up bed or cot when it is not in use, etc. The difficulty of finding such space, particularly in the case of a rollaway bed, which folds up into a fairly large bundle, in cramped quarters is sometimes considerable. Here, also, as in the case of the sofa bed or davenport, the use of a rollaway bed or cot requires daily conversion of the latter of its sleeping form, and vice versa. These conversions, while not particularly onerous, are nevertheless somewhat of a nuisance, and rather time consuming.

In summary, any of the above-described sleeping arrangements requires a nightly bed preparation ritual, and a morning bed-folding one, often requiring the movement of a heavy piece of furniture between positions best suited for its daytime and nighttime functions, and the provision of adequate bed space, sometimes considerable, over and above the space occupied by the items of living room furniture in the area in question.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The novel furniture units of this invention serve, in combination with a conventional bed, preferably a twin bed, to provide the dual purpose functionality of a sofa bed or davenport, but without the above-noted problems attendant upon use of the latter. In their preferred form, as presently contemplated, the furniture units are adapted for easy hanging installation on a special frame provided for the purpose on a wall adjacent the aforesaid bed, or a fame attached to the bed itself. The units are preferably designed with sloping fronts, enclosed sides and enclosed tops, and are designed to form sloping backrest means above the bed when suspended from the aforesaid frame. Preferably, the sloping fronts of the units are upholstered to provide backrest means the equivalent, from the standpoint of comfort, of the back of a sofa or padded chair. The frame is positioned so that the units suspended therefrom are aligned over the back" half of the bed, and spaced slightly, preferably about 2 inches, above the bed surface. With the bed and units so positioned, the exposed part of the bed surface and the upholstered fronts of the units cooperate to provide a comfortable sofalike seat for several people. Where the bed is a conventional twin bed, of 39 inch width, the seat room is even greater, and therefore more comfortable, than that of most conventional sofas.

The furniture units are provided with hooks, fastened to the inner surfaces of their sides and extending rearwardly therefrom, and the frame has cooperating rods, or pins, positioned so that when the units are maneuvered into proper orientation with respect thereto the hooks fit down over the rods or pins and support the units in alignment over the bed. The aligned tops of the units form a convenient surface, suitable as a coffee table, or as a table for a lamp, vase of flowers, or the like.

The furniture units are designed to stack, one above the other, and thereby form a night stand, or the like, so that they can serve a useful purpose at night, when removed from the frame, in a minimum of space. To make this possible, the units, preferably three in number, differ incrementally in cross-sectional size so that they nest together with the upper part of each of the lower of the adjacent pairs telescopically inserted in the bottom of the unit directly thereabove. There are stop members on the insides of all but the bottom of the units, when so stacked, to support the units successively on top of each other at the proper levels for effective height regulation of the resulting stack.

It will thus be apparent that the use of my novel furniture units in conjunction with a conventional twin bed results in twofold functionality of the bed as a sofalike piece of furniture during the daytime, and as a bed for sleeping purposes at night. The same amount of space is occupied by the bed at all times, thus avoiding the problem of finding the extra bed room space required by the use of a sofa bed, davenport, rollaway bed, or the like. Furthermore, the furniture units of this invention are preferably of hollow construction, and relatively light in weight. They can be easily moved to their latched positions with a frame of the above-described type, even by a woman, and unlatched therefrom with equal facility. This is a far simpler procedure than that of converting a sofa bed or davenport to its sleeping form, opening up a rollaway bed, or performing the verse procedure of converting the sofa bed or davenport into a piece of living room fumiture for daytime use, or folding up the rollaway bed for storage.

While it is true that the furniture units, when removed from their positions over the bed, require a certain amount of space, this space is minimal, because of the stackability of the units. Also, the stacked units serve as a useful item of furniture, for example, a night stand, rather than merely taking up space. Consequently, by the use of my novel furniture units, 1 provide both a bed and night stand requiring a minimum of extra space at night, as opposed to the greater extra space required by a sofa bed or davenport in its expanded, sleeping position. Additionally, my furniture units, in their preferred, hollow form, can be employed for the temporary storage of such items as cushions employed on the bed during its daytime usage as a sitting couch, thus avoiding some other place to put them, during the night, as would be required were such cushions employed on conventional sofa beds or davenports.

It is thus a principal object of this invention to provide means for the conversion of a conventional twin bed into a form suitable for sofalike use during the day, and thereby permit usage of the bed in a dual capacity similar to that of a conventional sofa bed, but without the extra space requirement of the latter in its sleeping form.

It is another object of the invention to provide such means installable for use in conjunction with a bed by a simple hanging technique, in contrast to the cumbersome conversion procedure required to convert a conventional sofa bed or davenport into sleeping form, or the rigorous physical ordeal of opening a rollaway bed for sleeping purposes.

It is still another object of the invention to provide such means having nighttime utility as a night stand which can be quickly and easily assembled in a cramped or limited space.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the light of subsequent disclosures herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a plurality of furniture units of preferred design in accordance with this invention installed for use on a frame over a conventional bed for conversion of the bed into a sitting couch, the bed being illustrated in phantom outline form.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the frame, slightly enlarged, on which the FIG. 1 furniture units are installed.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the FIG. 1 furniture units in enlarged form, removed from their hanging positions above the FIG. 1 bed and stacked one above the other to form a night stand.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of one of the units and the frame on which it is installed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Considering now the drawing in greater detail, with emphasis first on FIG. 1, there are shown generally at 10, 12 and 14, respectively, three furniture units of preferred design in accordance with this invention positioned for use over a conventional twin bed B to convert the bed into a sitting couch of sofalike character. The furniture units are of similar construction, but differ incrementally in size, for a reason hereinafter made clear. Thus, each of the units has a hollow interior enclosed by side, front and top walls, and an open bottom and back. The side enclosure walls of the units are of equal size and shape to permit the units to be aligned over a bed in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1, and serve as backrest for the sitting couch. For this reason, the sidewalls are individually designated by the common reference numeral 42. The tops of units 10, 12 and 14 are of generally rectangular shape, and similar size, except for incremental differences in their lengths, and are respectively designated by the reference numerals a, 12a and 14a. The same thing is true with respect to the front walls of the units, these being designated by the reference numerals 10b, 12b and 14b, respectively. The differences in length between the corresponding fronts and tops of furniture units 10, 12 and 14 are equal, and, as will be apparent, account for the incremental size differences in the units.

The side, top and front walls of the illustrated units are made of wood, although this is not necessary, and the walls could be made of any material suitable for the purpose. Since, as will be explained, the furniture units of my invention are designed for suspension above a bed for daytime service, and stacking on the floor for nighttime service, they should preferably be constructed of a material strong enough for such usage yet light enough in weight to permit their easy positioning above the bed, and removal therefrom, by anyone, and particularly a woman, since their greatest contemplated area of usage is in living quarters maintained by girls and women.

It will be evident from the foregoing, and FIG. 1, that emplacement of furniture units l0, l2 and 14 over bed B serves the purpose of converting the bed into a sitting couch by providing a backrest over the rear portion of the bed, the uncovered portion of the bed, of course, serving as the seat area of the couch. To enhance the backrest functionality of the furniture units, their fronts are of sloped, rather than square, design, to impart a comfortable degree of inclination to the back of the couch. To provide still greater comfort to those sitting on the couch, the fronts of the units are upholstered, preferably with a suitably resilient foam filling material, such as foam rubber or foamed polyurethane, enclosed in a fabric or plastic cover. It is not cn'tically necessary, however, that the furniture units of this invention have upholstered fronts, or even sloping fronts, although the incorporation of these features therein is preferred for obvious reasons of greater comfort and eye appeal in their sitting couch utility, as well as an enhanced degree of serviceability and eye appeal in their alternative night stand utility, described below.

The side, top and front walls, or enclosures, of the furniture units are fastened together in any conventional way, as by means of nails, glue, or the like. The upholstery is fitted to the inclined front enclosure of each of the units by pulling the edges of the upholstery cover to the periphery of the back of the enclosure and tacking, or otherwise fastening, them is place therearound. FIG. 4 is a cross section through one of the furniture units in its FIG. 1 (sitting couch) position, and shows the upholstery of that particular unit (which is similar to the upholstery of the other units) at 38, the edges of the upholstery cover fastened to the back of the units front wall or enclosure being illustrated at 40 and the upholstery filling being illustrated at 39 (as foam rubber, or a similarly resilient material).

In addition to serving a backrest function in their positions over bed B, furniture units 10, 12 and 14 there combine to form an elongate coffee, refreshment or cocktail table, easily reachable by persons sitting on the couch. The tops of the units form the top of the table, and provide strong, sturdy support for reading lamps, and similar objects, as well. The table is ideally situated for the proper positioning of such a lamp to throw light over the shoulder of a person sitting on the couch onto reading matter, sewing material, or the like held by him (or her).

As previously indicated, furniture units 10, 12 and 14 are supported on frame F in their FIG. 1 positions above bed B. Frame F is a wooden framework of simple construction, consisting essentially of elongate upper and lower members 24 and 26, respectively, and six wooden crosspieces 28, positioned as shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the frame affixed to a wall, as it appears prior to the installation of the furniture units thereon. As that figure, considered conjunctively with FIG. 1, shows, the frame is of rectangular shape, and sized to fit flush with the backs of the units, when the latter are installed thereon.

For reasons soon to be explained, each of the cross pieces 28 is positioned to fit flush against a separate one of the back edges of the sidewalls or enclosures of the furniture units when the units are installed on the frame. The frame is thus, in effect, divided into three rectangular segments positioned to coincide with the backs of the three furniture units in their FIG. 1 positions, so that the units there hide the frame from front view. The frame is fastened to the wall at the proper elevation above the floor to support the units above bed level (preferably by about 2 inches) in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1, by means of nails driven into the wall studs. Two of the nails, driven into a stud 34, can be seen at 36 in FIG. 4. Other means of fastening the frame to the wall (such as, for example, screws) can, of course, be substituted for these nails, within the scope of my invention.

Each of crosspieces 28 of the frame F has a slot 30 running from front to rear therethrough, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4 of the drawing. Running from side to side, and about halfway between the front and back, of each crosspiece are two parallel bars, or pins. These pins run perpendicularly through the slot 30 in the crosspiece, and are tightly fitted in aligned bores in the crosspiece walls either side of the slot. As FIG. 2 shows, four of the crosspieces are arranged in adjacently paired relationship, and the other two stand alone, at the two ends of frame F. Pins of two lengths are employed in the crosspieces. Each of the crosspieces forming the ends of the frame has a pair of relatively short pins running through its slot, whereas longer pins are employed in those slots of the adjacently paired crosspieces, the shorter pins being shown at 22, and the longer ones at 23, in FIG. 2. These pins cooperate with hooks on the furniture units, soon to be described, to provide a latching arrangement between the units and frame whereby the units are held in position above bed B.

The above-mentioned hooks are conventional hooks of the type fashioned from plate metal for use in the fastening of bed frame members, and the like, together. The hooks are fastened to the inner surfaces of the sidewalls of the units by screw means, such as illustrated in FIG. 3, which shows the hooks at 16 and screw means at 18. Each of the hooks 16 has a square segment, which is fastened flush against an inside wall of one of the fumiture units, and an irregular segment characterized by the presence of two hooklike appendages 20. The hooks are fastened to the furniture units so that these hooklike appendages extend to the rear. Each of the hooks is thus, in effeet, a double hook.

As previously indicated, the positions of the hooks on the furniture units, and of latch pins 22 and 23 in the crosspieces of frame F, are so arranged that the furniture units can be backed against complementary pairs of the crosspieces and the hooks inserted in the slots in these crosspieces and lowered onto the pins in the slots. This simple hanging procedure is all that is necessary to install the units above a bed for daytime usage, and can be carried out by practically anyone, even a child who is tall enough to lift them to the proper height to fit on the frame.

The removal of the furniture units from the frame is as simple an operation as their installation on the frame, and is accomplished by merely raising each unit until its hooks clear the latching pins in the frame, and then pulling it away from the frame and bed. Hand openings 44 are provided in the sides of the furniture units, and appropriately positioned recesses 32 are provided in the upper horizontal member 24 of frame F, to permit convenient handling of the units while they are being hung on, and removed from, the frame. It is within the scope of my invention to employ a frame for support of the furniture units with depending legs, or the equivalent, by means of which it can be secured to a bed. With a frame of this type attached, the bed can be converted to a sitting couch in any convenient location, whether or not there is an adjacent wall such as the installation of frame F would require. In addition to extending the range of usefulness of my sitting couch to areas other than those adjacent walls, the use of a bed with such a frame attached avoids the troublesome necessity of permanently mounting a frame on the wall, and the wall-scarring consequences thereof. Here, as in the case of its wallmounted counterpart, the frame is positioned to hold the furniture units clear of the bed top (preferably by about 2 inches) to permit persons on the sitting couch to shift their weights without jostling items (such as, for example, coffee cups) resting on the table formed by the units.

In addition to their backrest function over bed B, furniture units 10, I2 and M are designed to serve as a night stand when the bed is being used for sleeping purposes. To form them into such a night stand, the units are merely stacked, one above the other, in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3. This stacking is made possible by the above-mentioned incremental differences in the sizes of the units, and cooperating side strips 46, which run from front to rear along the inner sides of the side enclosures of the upper two of the stacked units. The smallest unit 110, to the left in FIG. ll, forms the bottom member of the resulting stack, and the largest unit 114, seen to the right in FIG. ll, forms the top member, the unit of intermediate size 12 being nested therebetween. The units are optimumly designed with the smallest incremental size variation consistent with easy stackability thereof so that the variation will be as inconspicuous as possible when the units are installed for daytime use over bed B. Furniture unit 10, the bottom unit in the aforesaid stack, has a shelf 48 which permits the use of its interior as a depository for bedding, magazines, newspapers, and the like. The same use can be made of much of the space within the hollow interiors of the upper two units in the stack, since, as FIG. 3 illustrates, there is ample storage room between the tops of adjacent units for this purpose.

While the novel furniture units and supporting frame of this invention have been herein illustrated and described what are considered to be preferred embodiments, it will, be understood by those skilled in the art that departures "may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention. Certain of these departures have already been mentioned, and others will occur to those skilled in the art in the light of present teachings. Exemplary of the latter are noncritical variations of the shapes of various parts, or features, of the illustrated fumiture units and frame; the use of substitute materials of construction for the preferred materials mentioned herein; the elimination of certain structural, or other, features of the furniture units and frame not critically essential to their proper use and functioning; the addition of useful, but noncritical, accessories to the furniture units and/or frame; etc.

More specifically illustrative of the modifications of the illustrated embodiments of my furniture units and support frame within the scope of the present invention are such things as the addition of a small sliding drawer under the top of the uppermost unit (in their stacked, nightstand arrangement); the provision of equally sized footand headboards for the bed on which the units are to be used adapted to serve as arms for the sitting couch into which the bed is convertible by the units (the footand headboards can be hollow and top loading to permit the storage of rolled blankets, comforters or pillows therein, or fitted with shelves, either open or closed, and fastenable to the ends of the bed by means of metal brackets); the improvization of means for changing the upholstery on the furniture units to permit removal, and cleaning, thereof, the changing of the upholstery colors to suit the season, etc.; the incorporation of mechanical means for adjusting the backrest angle of the furniture units between reclining and sitting positions; etc.

My invention is not limited to the sitting couch utility stressed in the above description, but can be employed in any capacity for which one or more of the furniture units described herein is (or are) suited. For example, in one form, the invention can include, in addition to the backrest frame, a smaller frame adapted to support one of the furniture units above the head of a bed to enable to person to sit up in the bed, with his back against that unit, while the remaining units are stacked to form a bedside stand. In another form the invention can comprise only one furniture unit with a support frame sized to receive and hold it above a bed.

It is emphasized, in final summary, that the scope of my invention extends to all variant forms of its drawing-illustrated embodiments encompassed by the language of the following claims.

I claim:

l. A plurality of substantially hollow furniture units adapted for removable disposition over the top of a portion of a bed to provide a backrest for a person sitting or reclining on the exposed portion of the bed top;

said furniture units each having a front, top and sides; and

said fumiture units being adapted for arrangement over the top of a bed to convert the bed into a sofalike piece of furniture, or, alternatively, for stacking, one above the other, to form a nightstand or the like; and

said furniture units differing incrementally in size to permit them to be stacked with the upper portion of each lower one fitting telescopically within the lower portion of each one disposed directly thereabove, and each of the units disposed directly above another in the resulting stack having stop means on the inner surfaces of its sides adapted to abut against the top of the latter unit and thereby support the former (upper) unit at a predetermined elevation in said stack.

2. A plurality of stackable furniture units in accordance with claim I in which each of the units has a sloping front against which persons sitting on said sofalike piece of furniture can recline.

3. A plurality of stackable furniture units in accordance with claim 2 having their sloping fronts upholstered to provide greater back comfort for persons sitting on said sofalike piece of furniture.

4. In combination, a plurality of stackable furniture units in accordance with claim 1 and support means for the units adapted to hold them in the proper positional relationship for said arrangement over the top of said bed, said units and said support means being fitted with cooperating interlocking hardware adapted to permit the hanging installation of the units on the support means for conversion of the bed to said sofalike piece of furniture, and the manual removal of the units from the support means for stacking purposes, as desired.

5. A combination in accordance with claim 4 in which said support means is a frame fastenable to a room wall and said cooperating interlocking hardware comprises rearwardly extending hooks fixedly secured to the sides of said units and latching pins firmly anchored in said frame, the positions of the hooks and pins being such as to permit the manual lowering of the hooks onto the pins for hanging support of said units, through maneuvering of the latter to proper positions of proximity to said pins, and the lifting of the units until the hooks clear the pins for removal of the units from the frame for stacking purposes.

6. A combination in accordance with claim 5 in which said stackable furniture units are provided with handgrip openings in their sides for convenient handling thereof.

7. A combination in accordance with claim 6 in which said frame has appropriately located hollowed-out portions adjacent the rear edges of the tops of said stackable units, in their hanging positions on said frame, to facilitate the handling of the units during their installation on, and removal from, the frame.

8. A combination in accordance with claim 7 adapted for use in conjunction with a twin bed.

* IR 19! 9 i 

1. A plurality of substantially hollow furniture units adapted for removable disposition over the top of a portion of a bed to provide a backrest for a person sitting or reclining on the exposed portion of the bed top; said furniture units each having a front, top and sides; and said furniture units being adapted for arrangement over the top of a bed to convert the bed into a sofalike piece of furniture, or, alternatively, for stacking, one above the other, to form a nightstand or the like; and said furniture units differing incrementally in size to permit them to be stacked with the upper portion of each lower one fitting telescopically within the lower portion of each one disposed directly thereabove, and each of the units disposed directly above another in the resulting stack having stop means on the inner surfaces of its sides adapted to abut against the top of the latter unit and thereby support the former (upper) unit at a predetermined elevation in said stack.
 2. A plurality of stackable furniture units in accordance with claim 1 in which each of the units has a sloping front against which persons sitting on said sofalike piece of furniture can recline.
 3. A plurality of stackable furniture units in accordance with claim 2 having their sloping fronts upholstered to provide greater back comfort for persons sitting on said sofalike piece of furniture.
 4. In combination, a plurality of stackable furniture units in accordance with claim 1 and support means for the units adapted to hold them in the proper positional relationship for said arrangement over the top of said bed, said units and said support means being fitted with cooperating interlocking hardware adapted to permit the hanging installation of the units on the support means for conversion of the bed to said sofalike piece of furniture, and the manual removal of the units from the support means for stacking purposes, as desired.
 5. A combination in accordance with claim 4 in which said support means is a frame fastenable to a room wall and said cooperating interlocking hardware comprises rearwardly extending hooks fixedly secured to the sides of said units and latching pins firmly anchored in said frame, the positions of the hooks and pins being such as to permit the manual lowering of the hooks onto the pins for hanging support of said units, through maneuvering of the latter to propeR positions of proximity to said pins, and the lifting of the units until the hooks clear the pins for removal of the units from the frame for stacking purposes.
 6. A combination in accordance with claim 5 in which said stackable furniture units are provided with handgrip openings in their sides for convenient handling thereof.
 7. A combination in accordance with claim 6 in which said frame has appropriately located hollowed-out portions adjacent the rear edges of the tops of said stackable units, in their hanging positions on said frame, to facilitate the handling of the units during their installation on, and removal from, the frame.
 8. A combination in accordance with claim 7 adapted for use in conjunction with a twin bed. 